A few months ago I got to preach a message that I had written about here in July.  Well, the message of increasing your need boiled down to this: Give and it will come back to you, in good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.

Part of this is listening to the Spirit for opportunities to give.

I am a bass player.  I love playing bass.  I love singing as well.  I had an ESP F-204 Bass, that was Gun Metal Blue and beautiful.

Within our worship team I had stepped down from playing bass so that a younger guy could step in and perfect his craft.  He's a better player than I am, he has a gift, I have a skill that I had to work on.  Don't tell him I said that though, it'll go to his head .

A couple of months ago I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me to give him my bass.  I looked at it in one of two ways, and depending on the way things played out, I was going to be happy either way.  The two perspectives were:

1. My time of playing had passed and the Lord had more things for me that holding onto that part of my life would hinder and I needed to give up the bass in order to grab the higher call.
2. I had another bass on the way and it would inspire me to do more with the music and step out of the worship team and do more for God with music.

Well, it turns out #2 is the path on which he was sending me.

I was looking at basses that I was hoping to eventually get.  I believe that when you ask for something of God, be specific.  He'll give you the desires of your heart.  I was hoping that #2 would be the way the Lord was going to go, so I was preparing for it.  I found the bass that I wanted, which was a Schecter Stiletto Elite 5-String Bass that had a Transparent-Red Finish. 

I actually have reasons for wanting this specific bass:

1. I wanted a bass that had a neck-through body, which the Elite has.
2. I wanted a 5 string or 6 string bass.
3. The instrument sounds... of the charts good.
4. It's pretty.

Well, I was hoping to get this guitar at some point, but I knew I wasn't going to buy it.  That was part of the deal when I gave the other bass player the bass.  I, on my own, was not supposed to purchase a new one.  It was going to come from the power of God.

Well, my mom came to me about a month ago and asked me what I wanted for Christmas.  That is a tricky question.  Normally, I just say that I want Best Buy gift cards because what I normally want to get is expensive and I don't want any one person spending the money to get these things for me.  This year was a little different in that I really didn't even want anything from Best Buy.  I only had one want, a new bass, but I had no intention of anyone getting it for me for Christmas, it's too expensive.  So I told my mom that I didn't want anything from her, to get more for my kids, because what I wanted was too expensive.  She pushed me so I finally told her what I wanted a Schecter 5-String bass.  I didn't give her specifics.  I want to stress that, I told her, "Schecter 5-String Bass".

Christmas morning rolls around and she sends Jen out to her van to get my present and she walks in with a gig bag.  When I open it I see a Schecter Stiletto Elite, Diamond Series, 5-String Bass with a Transparent Red finish.  Not only that but there were two tuners, one standard Chromatic and one Chromatic pedal tuner, two chords and a Behringer 120 Watt Ultrabass Amp.  This is the pressed down shaken together and running over part.  I didn't ask for all of the extra things that were given, but they were included.

It turns out my mom had found this bass on the Pittsburgh Craigs List.  The previous owner lived in a town close to my mom.  They had been in bands a few years ago and had not played in recent times.  With the economy the way it is they needed to dump some of their equipment to make it through the holidays.  After listing it on Craigs list a couple of times and on Ebay, they hadn't been able to sell it, which is a miracle unto itself.  A couple days before Christmas, the couple contacted my mom, said it was still available, set up the deal and met my mom at Wal-mart for the transaction.

Not only was it exactly what I was wanting, it was not intentionally exactly what I wanted.  My mom didn't go to Guitar Center with my exact specifications.  She knew I wanted a Schecter 5-String bass, nothing more, nothing less.  To her, she simply got me the Schecter 5-String bass that was in her price range and available.  What she didn't know, but God did know was that this was the bass that was my heart's desire, right down to the color.

If you ever doubt that God wants to give his children every good thing; never forget that he provides your heart's desire.  When you listen and you follow his bidding, his word will not return void.  It can't.  It is impossible for Him to lie.  If He said it, it will happen.  If there is something specific you are to give up, give it up without doubting.  He has something better in store for you, not just something that you simply want, but he'll give you your heart's desire.  I would have been happy with any 5-String bass, but my heart's desire was exactly the one I received.

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball when you were expecting the fast ball. I was given one of these curve balls yesterday.

I am the Microsoft Practice Director at ConsultUSA in Pittsburgh.  It's a great company and I enjoy working for them.  As part of my job I am to be billable to a client so that there are is a ROI on my work.  I was informed yesterday by the client that I wouldn't be back after the new year.  Now, this doesn't mean I'm now unemployed.  If nothing happens in the next few weeks I'll be put on, what we call in the consulting industry, the bench.  While on the bench I will work toward getting certifications as well as getting off of the bench.  However, there is a good chance that I won't be put on the bench, I may end up going to another client for whom I used to work.

Anyway, I have always enjoyed working for this client.  It's been a lot of fun and I've learned a lot.  I went into my managers office to ask for some time off so I could work for an afternoon at the home office and was informed of the contracts end date.  Now, I have many opinions on the timing, the way it was done and all, but I'm not writing to rant.  I am writing to explain how I am feeling and thinking.

First, what am I feeling?  I feel a little betrayed.  Unfortunately, I didn't see this coming and it's not happening on my terms.  I'm also feeling a little depressed.  I gave much of my life the last 2 years to this company and I am feeling a loss at the prospects of not working here.

Second, I have to keep fighting.  The irony, as well as the saving grace, is that this all happened the day of my annual review with ConsultUSA and I had a great review, from both companies.  So, I know it wasn't because of my work, it was truly a part of the changing of the guard within the client.

The nice thing is, I'm marketable.  My employer looks at me as an A-lister and doesn't feel like I'll hit the bench at all.  Actually, the owner of the company is wondering if we can get me out of the client sooner to get me into the other client that I mentioned earlier.  That's cool.  I know that I'l be able to find something either way.  Whether it's pulling in some favors to open a new client, which I've done before or going to our existing client.

More than anything, I have to look at this as an opportunity.  If I hit the bench there will be time for me to get my certifications, whether it be my Microsoft Certifications or the PMP.  If I move on to another client quickly then there is an opportunity for me to get a pay increase and specifically, and more importantly, to not take the manditory bench salary cap, which would be a sizable hit.

Ultimately, this will be an interesting ride.

Now, All that was said to say this:

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the Lord

Ralph de la Vega came to the United States in 1962. He learned early on that obstacles were a part of life. Obstacles Welcome was written in response to the lessons he learned from the time of youth through his ascendancy to the President and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. The book takes a look at the obstacles that were presented to him and how he addressed each one.

I went into this book with great expectations. I have many friends who came from Cuba around the same time and I know their stories are intense and many things can be learned from them. Mr. de la Vega’s personal stories are gripping. I wish a larger part of the book were dedicated to the personal sides of the events.

However, much of the book is dedicated to the obstacles thrown at him at his job and as I would expect from an executive, he stated the issue, how it was addressed and the resolution. At times he put in how it affected his life, but not nearly enough. Because of this the book was a slow read. When I had 10 minutes in which I wanted to read, I found myself going to other books. Until I finally put myself to the plow to get through it.

I would have enjoyed the book more if it were told in more of a story form. I’ve read so many business books that grip me because of the way the story flows that I felt dry with this one. If you are a “Just the facts, Ma’am” type of person this may be a very enjoyable book for you, but for me, it just didn’t keep my attention.